REVIEW: My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn

29042015

For a while, I debated whether or not Liv Corfixen’s documentary “My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn” merited a review on my blog. Clocking in at 59 minutes, the film falls in the gray area between short and feature. But given its interest to fans of “Drive” and haters of “Only God Forgives,” I figured I could spare a few hundred words for the sake of cinephilia.

After being put to sleep in Cannes by Refn’s critically reviled 2013 film, I described “Only God Forgives” as “a fetish meant only to please Refn and a few others who share his bizarre – and borderline irresponsible – penchant” while also claiming it lacked any internal logic. This behind-the-scenes look at the filmmaking process, anchored by Refn’s wife, alerts us to the fact that Refn himself saw the trainwreck coming on set and found himself helpless to prevent it.

For the moviegoer, the film’s squandered opportunity represents a loss of 90 minutes and maybe a few dollars. But for Refn, however, the flop of “Only God Forgives” jeopardizes his very livelihood. I might have felt sorrow or pity for the director after “My Life Directed” had Corfixen allowed the documentary to function almost entirely as an apologia. Yet she insists on using her footage as partial vindication for the project, a choice that makes her movie better and leaves his in stasis.

With the exception of its resigned and defeated (rather than triumphant) tone, “My Life Directed” more or less resembles a standard making-of special. Since Refn allegedly would not let Corfixen shoot his blow-ups on set, it falters as a portrait of a director losing control of his film and as an autopsy of a failed filmmaking venture. The film would make a decent Criterion Collection extra, if “Only God Forgives” were ever to get that treatment … though I do not think anyone expects that day to come. C+ /